Henna has been used for body art and hair dye since the late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. When *I* experimented with henna, it looked like someone from the Bronze Age had worked on me. One fine Saturday afternoon I warded off boredom by walking into a Cost Plus store and emerging with a decorative box containing a “complete” henna kit. I mixed the henna powder with a strange, tea-based brew. I smeared a small amount on my arm to test for allergic reactions. After 24 uneventful hours I made some more paste, put it in a little plastic sleeve with one corner cut off, and squeezed it onto the palm of my hand.
It was messy. I had no control of the paste, which sometimes sputtered and sometimes came out in blobs. I had trouble using the plastic stencil, so I had to think of something and freehand it. Oh boy. It looked like I had been attacked by the henna monster.
There was still so much paste left that it seemed wrong to toss it. I applied some to the sole of my left foot and, for good measure, on the top of my left foot. Then I sealed it all with a sticky mixture of lemon and honey and waited for it to dry. And waited, and waited, and waited. Because the longer you leave it on initially, the longer the design will last. I had started too late at night and by now I was basically sleepwalking, so I carefully put a sock on my left foot and a cotton glove on my left hand, vowing not to touch ANYTHING that might rub off the henna.
Easier thought than done. I hopped around my apartment on one foot, locking the doors, checking that the stove was off. That was fine. Then I had to go to the bathroom with only one arm and one leg/foot. Balance issues. Need I say more? This was a different kind of henna hustle.
The design lasted about two weeks and got lots of stares. My design was darker and lasted much longer than that of the professional henna hustler, but it betrayed the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. I can’t find the photos I took of my “work,” so what you see here is a picture of my professional henna job, the day after application.
It was messy. I had no control of the paste, which sometimes sputtered and sometimes came out in blobs. I had trouble using the plastic stencil, so I had to think of something and freehand it. Oh boy. It looked like I had been attacked by the henna monster.
There was still so much paste left that it seemed wrong to toss it. I applied some to the sole of my left foot and, for good measure, on the top of my left foot. Then I sealed it all with a sticky mixture of lemon and honey and waited for it to dry. And waited, and waited, and waited. Because the longer you leave it on initially, the longer the design will last. I had started too late at night and by now I was basically sleepwalking, so I carefully put a sock on my left foot and a cotton glove on my left hand, vowing not to touch ANYTHING that might rub off the henna.
Easier thought than done. I hopped around my apartment on one foot, locking the doors, checking that the stove was off. That was fine. Then I had to go to the bathroom with only one arm and one leg/foot. Balance issues. Need I say more? This was a different kind of henna hustle.
The design lasted about two weeks and got lots of stares. My design was darker and lasted much longer than that of the professional henna hustler, but it betrayed the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. I can’t find the photos I took of my “work,” so what you see here is a picture of my professional henna job, the day after application.
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